


Reaper

by IAmANonnieMouse



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Post-Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, pirate inej
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22453141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmANonnieMouse/pseuds/IAmANonnieMouse
Summary: There was something inside her, something that dreamed of more.And with her ship, Inej intended to find it.
Relationships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Comments: 16
Kudos: 63





	Reaper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vaulkner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaulkner/gifts).



> Before the holidays at the end of last year, the lovely [xan-drei](https://xan-drei.tumblr.com/) asked if anyone wanted to do a Six of Crows gift exchange. I very excitedly raised my hand, then promptly went home for winter break and didn't open my laptop for four weeks. But now I'm back on campus and my muse has returned, and voila, a fic was made!
> 
> Shoutout to my weather major roommate, [KingdomKeys](%E2%80%9C), who wrote me literal *notes* about different types of fog and did out the Science Stuff to determine what kind of fog a Squaller could create at sea, and all the mechanics of how and why. When she offered to send me even more research, I said, _That’s okay, I’m going to have them do wishy-washy magic things, and fog will happen :D_

Inej slipped down from her perch at the top of the mainmast, silent and swift. 

“Ship on the horizon,” she murmured to her first mate, a Squaller named Alizeh. 

Alizeh smirked. “Full treatment, Captain?”

Inej returned her grin and let the first tingling wave of adrenaline rush through her. She always loved this, the anticipation, the tension filling the air until there was nothing else to breathe. “Yes,” she said to Alizeh. “Let’s give them everything.”

Alizeh pulled in a blanket of warm air and let it settle on the cold waters surrounding Kerch. Fog began to form, thick and impenetrable. Inej watched from the prow of her ship, lightly resting her fingers on her knives. _Sankta Alina, Sankt Petyr._

As the fog grew closer to the ship, someone sent up an alert, and its warning bells began to clang, the noise carrying easily over the water. The rest of Inej’s crew began to stir, gathering around her on deck.

“One last stop before we make land,” Inej called, and her crew cheered.

“Fog’s all settled in,” Alizeh reported, hand briefly darting under her sleeve to touch her amplifier. “Brace yourselves. We’re going in at full speed.”

Inej closed her eyes and let the air rush along her skin as Alizeh filled their sails. Behind her, she could hear her crew moving around, humming her song under their breath.

And it was _her_ song, truly, even if she wasn’t the one who wrote it.

_When the fog comes rollin’ in,_  
_rollin’ in above the waves,_  
_when the wind fills her sails,_  
_sends her flying ‘cross the sea._  
_Then she comes, oh she comes,_  
_oh she comes for you and me._  
_The Reaper, she’s a’comin’,_  
_as she flies across the sea._

Inej climbed back up the mainmast as her crew sang louder, their voices bouncing off each other in the fog. She waited in her crow’s nest as Alizeh brought them alongside the slaver ship in a final, controlled gust of air.

Inej eyed the rigging of the slaver ship, picked her landing spot, then ran across the mast, feet sure and steady. Beneath her, on deck, her crew were boarding the ship, swift and silent. She wanted to see how they were doing, wanted to make sure they were holding their own, but there would be time for that later, when the slaves were freed and the ship’s crew subdued.

Anticipation was woven through the fog, so thick she could almost taste it, _bite_ it.

Inej took one last breath, reached the end of the mast, and _jumped._

*

In the Barrel, they called her the Wraith – Kaz Brekker's shadow who couldn't be stopped by locks or doors or walls. On the sea, they called her the Reaper, and spoke of her like a myth.

She'd heard the whispers carried by the wind. Some thought she was Grisha, a Tidemaker or a Squaller who used her powers to catch even the fastest ships. Others said she was a vengeful Saint, woken and restless, who would not stop until every last slaver was buried at the bottom of the sea. 

Inej smiled at their words, and the truth in them. She had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Specht had helped her pick her original crew, small enough to be vetted and remain loyal, but large enough to keep her ship moving in the water. The others on board were people she had collected along the way, prisoners of slavers who, once released, asked to join the fight.

Kaz would probably call her a fool for trusting them, but she understood that they chased after something other than kruge. It was the same thing that motivated her, that pushed her onward when the seas were rough and the slavers’ ships dwarfed her own. There was something inside her, something that dreamed of more. 

And with her ship, Inej intended to find it.

*

When _The Wraith_ pulled into port, it was thirty passengers heavier. Inej took the satisfying image of the slaver ship sinking underneath the waves and tucked it in her mental bank of memories.

These memories kept her going when she was surrounded by water on all sides, with the sun blistering overhead, and the Barrel an unseen speck in the distance. When she thought about Kaz, and Jesper, and Nina, and Wylan, and wondered how they all were doing.

When she missed them more than she could bear.

But now she was back again, letting her rubber-soled shoes land on the familiar streets. Her family, her mother and father, would always be her first home. But the Barrel had shaped her as much as Kaz claimed it made him, had crushed her between its corruption and evils and left her stronger for it. And the Barrel would always be there to welcome her back, no matter how many times she left.

Alizeh came up alongside her, shaking her head slowly. “I’ll never be able to fully believe that you’re from this place.”

Inej glanced at her and smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Don’t let Noc gamble all his wages away while I’m gone.”

Alizeh smirked knowingly. “Absolutely, Captain.”

“Shut up,” Inej muttered. She started down the streets, inhaling the familiar smells and listening to the familiar sounds. She was only able to stomach the urge for so long – after a few minutes, she scaled a building and climbed to the rooftop, looking out over the sprawling mess that was Ketterdam.

Her feet traced the familiar route that would forever be etched in her bones, carrying her over alleyways, past old gang territories. She could see Kaz’s fingerprints everywhere, in each repurposed building and newly-claimed wharf. Inej glanced down at the structure that used to be Tante Heleen’s Menagerie. It was a gambling hall now, one of Kaz’s most successful.

Inej continued onward without pausing. She was so close now. Something like anticipation lit in her veins, just as addictive, but not as sharp. 

The Slat came into view, with Kaz’s window tantalizingly open. Inej clambered across the patched roof and let herself drop straight through his window, tucking and rolling to absorb the impact. When she straightened, Kaz was standing only a few feet away, cane still half-raised, eyes sharp as he watched her move.

“Hello, Kaz,” she said.

Kaz lowered his cane and sat back down in his chair. “Inej,” he said. 

She moved closer and perched herself on the edge of his desk. He met her gaze as he pulled off his gloves and reached out to play with the end of her braid. His fingers wrapped around the tie and gently pulled it free. They sat in silence, close enough to feel the heat from each other’s bodies, as Kaz ran his fingers through her hair.

“Was it a good journey?” Kaz asked, his voice gently rasping against the edges of the quiet. 

“Yes,” Inej said, smiling. “Fifty people, total. We took down a ship just this morning with thirty.”

Kaz straightened in his chair and began to twist Inej’s hair into a new braid. She closed her eyes and let the familiar motions wrap around her in comfort. The Barrel would always be here to welcome her back. Kaz would always be here.

“What have the Dregs been doing?” she asked.

“This and that,” Kaz said. “I opened a new gambling hall. Enlarged some of the old ones. Per Haskell has finally given up trying to tell me what to do. I think I’ve more than proved my worth to him.”

“That’s good,” Inej said. “I’m here for a few days while we restock. Need anything?”

Kaz didn’t answer, but his silence spoke for him. He didn’t need anything. _Want_ was another matter.

Inej let them lapse back into quiet, watching Kaz’s fingers in her hair. “Done,” he said, carefully tying the end.

Inej slid off his desk. “Come on,” she said. “I want to go say hi to Jesper and Wylan.”

Kaz nodded and picked up his cane. Together, they stepped out of Kaz’s office and climbed down the stairs, back out onto the bustling streets of Ketterdam. As they walked, their shoulders brushed against each other with a soft rasp of rubbing fabric. 

They both heard it, but they didn’t move apart.

*

The ship felt empty. Quiet.

Nothing was different. It was her same crew, making the same sounds. But Inej had let herself remember, once again, what it was like to have Kaz Brekker within reach, to feel his large personality fill the air around her.

Alizeh clambered up the mast and collapsed ungracefully in the crow’s nest. “You’re brooding, Captain,” she announced. “And it’s gotten so bad that I was willing to risk my life to come up here and tell you to your face.”

Inej glanced at her. “We’ve been at sea for a day.”

“And you’ve been brooding for one day too long,” Alizeh responded.

“I’m fine,” Inej said. “I just get used to Ketterdam quickly. I have to remember how to be the Reaper again, not the Wraith.”

Alizeh nodded. “You’ll be fine. We just need to find you a ship to attack, with some nice evil slavers to beat up.”

Inej shrugged and looked out across the sea. Then, she smiled. “Alizeh,” she said, nudging her first mate. 

Alizeh sat up and peered over Inej’s shoulder, then cackled. “Yes, the gods have heard me! Slaver ship!” She turned to Inej and grinned. “Full treatment?”

“Full treatment,” Inej agreed.

As Alizeh scuttled back down to the deck and got the attention of the rest of the crew, Inej sat up straighter in her crow’s nest, fingers running over her newest knife. A gift from Kaz.

 _Stay safe,_ he’d murmured. _Come back._

The fog began to roll in, and her crew began to sing, and Inej closed her eyes and inhaled the salty air and let herself remember, again, why she was here. 

_The Reaper, she’s a’comin’,_  
_as she flies across the sea._

Inej stood and silently named her knives, one by one. Ketterdam would always be waiting, ready to welcome her home. But there was something inside her, something that dreamed of more. 

And Inej was going to find it.

*

**Author's Note:**

> Because my roommate is a horrible enabler, I did write one extra scene for this, but then I felt like it didn't match the mood of the rest of the fic, so I decided to exile it to the end notes :)
> 
> *
> 
> Morning came quickly, and Inej found herself blinking awake with the rising sun. Kaz slept beside her, breaths even and slow with sleep.
> 
> Inej dressed and worked her hair into a simple braid. She passed by Kaz’s bed on her way to the window, then hesitated when she felt his hand against her arm, covered only by the thin cotton of her shirt.
> 
> “Kaz,” she breathed.
> 
> “I have something for you,” he murmured, voice rougher with sleep. “To take with you.”
> 
> He let her go and pulled open a drawer near the bed. A knife sat inside, shining in the early light. “I didn’t name it,” he said. “I thought I’d leave you the honor.”
> 
> Inej lifted it, testing the balance. It was perfect—the perfect size, the perfect weight. Her lips curled, and she said, “I’ll name it Sankt Kaz.”
> 
> Kaz groaned and closed his eyes. “No.”
> 
> “Yes.”
> 
> “Anything but that.”
> 
> “Too late. Once a knife is named, you can’t take it back.”
> 
> Kaz muttered something under his breath and shook his head. “Fine,” he said. “If only because I know you won’t change your mind.” He nodded at it, then looked up at her. “Stay safe. Come back.”
> 
> “Always,” Inej murmured, hand tightening around her new knife. “You’ll be here?”
> 
> Kaz nodded. “Always.”
> 
> They were never ones for long goodbyes. Inej tucked the knife under her clothes, opened Kaz’s window, and climbed out onto the familiar ledge. She could feel Kaz’s eyes on her like a second coat.
> 
> Just before she moved away, back across the rooftops to her ship and her crew, she stopped and looked back at Kaz, still in bed, eyes half-lidded.
> 
> He raised a hand in a quiet wave. Inej returned it, and then she was off.
> 
> *


End file.
